The European Commission has set the support of victims of crime as a priority of strategic importance, by adopting and applying legislative and practical measures aiming at providing an adequate level of protection of victims’ rights throughout the European Union. The Directive 2012/29/EU, the ‘Victims’ Directive’, establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime states the minimum requirements and safeguards to be applied to protect the victims of crime, and their family members. As police officers are most often the first point of contact that a victim has with the authorities, several articles in the Victims’ Directive affect directly the daily work of police officers and set their obligations during their contact with victims of crime. More specifically:
Article 3 – Right to understand and to be understood
Article 4 – Right to receive information from the first contact with a competent authority
Article 5 – Right of victims when making a complaint
Article 8 – Right to access victim support services
Article 17- Rights of victims residing in another Member State
Article 18 – Right to protection
Article 20 – Right to protection of victims during criminal investigations
Article 22 – Individual assessment of victims to identify specific protection needs
Article 23 – Right to protection of victims with specific protection needs during criminal proceedings
Article 25 – Training of practitioners
To read the Victims’ Directive in all Member States language click here.
